The King Abdulaziz and His Companions Foundation for Giftedness and Creativity (Mawhiba) has renewed its call for male and female students across Saudi Arabia to register for the 2026 Bebras Mawhiba Informatics Competition, with registration open from October 6 until November 22, 2026. The announcement, released through official Saudi channels and reported by the Saudi Press Agency, marks the latest stage in the Kingdom’s expanding effort to build a generation of digitally fluent young Saudis equipped for the knowledge economy. Organized by Mawhiba in partnership with the Ministry of Education, the competition is open to general education students from Grade 3 of elementary school through Grade 12, and is conducted remotely through an online test available in Arabic and English on desktop or laptop computers.
Why does a school-level informatics contest in Saudi Arabia matter to readers far beyond the Kingdom’s borders? Because it sits at the intersection of two of the most consequential trends of the decade: the global race for digital talent and the transformation of national education systems to meet it. Mawhiba, a Saudi institution dedicated to identifying and nurturing gifted students, has positioned the Bebras Mawhiba competition as a gateway rather than a one-off event. The registration window, which remains open for several weeks, gives families, teachers, and school administrators across the country time to enroll students in what has become one of the largest computational thinking exercises in the world.
Context and Background
What is Bebras, and why has Saudi Arabia embraced it so enthusiastically? Bebras is an international competition in informatics and computational thinking that attracts more than 4 million students from over 78 countries worldwide. Its core mission is to encourage school students to develop problem-solving skills and to understand the concepts of informatics and computer science without requiring prior programming experience. Rather than testing code syntax, Bebras tasks ask students to reason about patterns, sequences, logic, and algorithms in accessible, often playful scenarios. That design makes it unusually inclusive: a Grade 3 pupil and a Grade 12 student can both engage with the same underlying discipline at different levels of complexity.
Mawhiba’s partnership with the Ministry of Education is central to how the competition reaches students. The Ministry of Education provides the national infrastructure through which general education students are identified and invited, while Mawhiba supplies the competition framework, the online platform, and the pedagogical expertise. This division of labor reflects a broader Saudi approach in which specialized foundations and government ministries work in tandem rather than in isolation. The result is a competition that is national in reach but international in standard, aligned with Bebras conventions and benchmarks used across dozens of participating countries.
The timing of the 2026 edition is significant. Registration opened on October 6 and will remain open until November 22, giving students roughly seven weeks to prepare and enroll. The remote, online format removes geographic barriers that might otherwise exclude students in smaller towns or rural areas, and the availability of the test in both Arabic and English ensures that language is not a barrier to participation. For a country as geographically large and demographically diverse as Saudi Arabia, that accessibility is not a minor detail. It is a deliberate design choice that widens the talent pipeline from the earliest grades.
Key Details
What exactly does the competition involve, and who is eligible? According to the official announcement, the Bebras Mawhiba competition targets general education students from Grade 3 of elementary school through Grade 12. It is conducted remotely through an online test, available in Arabic and English, and requires only a desktop or laptop computer. There is no indication that specialized equipment or prior coding courses are necessary. The competition seeks to strengthen students’ informatics and computational thinking skills and to enhance their logical reasoning, analytical abilities, and problem-solving capabilities.
The pedagogical method is worth explaining for non-specialist readers. Mawhiba describes the approach as simplifying complex problems and introducing the principles of algorithms, patterns, and abstraction. In practice, this means students encounter puzzles and scenarios that reward structured thinking: breaking a problem into steps, recognizing recurring patterns, ignoring irrelevant detail, and designing a sequence of actions that produces a correct result. These are the same habits of mind that underpin software engineering, data science, cybersecurity, and artificial intelligence, but they are taught at an age-appropriate level without the intimidation of a programming language.
Mawhiba urged students to take advantage of the registration period and participate, and invited them to learn more about the competition and registration procedures through the Mawhiba app or its website at www.mawhiba.sa/. The use of a dedicated mobile application alongside the website reflects the Kingdom’s broader digital-first approach to public services and education. For parents and teachers unfamiliar with the competition, the app and website serve as the authoritative source for deadlines, test formats, sample questions, and results. The single, clearly identified official channel also helps guard against misinformation, a recurring challenge in online education worldwide.
International and Regional Impact
How does Saudi participation in Bebras shape the Kingdom’s standing in the global education community? By joining a competition that draws more than 4 million students from over 78 countries, Saudi Arabia is not simply importing a foreign contest. It is participating in a shared international effort to define what computational literacy should look like in the twenty-first century. Saudi students who take part are effectively benchmarked against peers in Europe, Asia, the Americas, and Africa, giving educators in the Kingdom comparative data that can inform curriculum development at home.
Regionally, the competition reinforces Saudi Arabia’s position as a leader in Arab education innovation. Gulf neighbors and countries across the Middle East are watching how the Kingdom integrates technology into schooling, and Mawhiba’s model of a foundation-plus-ministry partnership offers a replicable template. The Arabic-language option is particularly notable: it allows the competition to serve Arabic-speaking students directly rather than requiring them to compete in a second language, a principle that supports linguistic and cultural confidence while maintaining international standards. In a region where youth populations are large and digital economies are expanding, the long-term value of such programs is substantial.
Economic and Strategic Significance
Why should economists and business leaders pay attention to a student informatics competition? Because talent pipelines are built decades before they are needed. Saudi Arabia’s economy is diversifying rapidly, and the demand for engineers, data analysts, AI specialists, and cybersecurity professionals is rising across both the public and private sectors. Competitions like Bebras Mawhiba identify and encourage young people who show aptitude for computational thinking, giving them early exposure to a field that will define many of the jobs of the future. The earlier that aptitude is detected, the more effectively it can be cultivated through scholarships, advanced programs, and specialized training.
The strategic dimension extends beyond individual careers. National competitiveness in the digital economy depends on the breadth and depth of a country’s technical workforce. By reaching students from Grade 3 onward, the competition casts a wide net rather than focusing only on elite high school students. This inclusive approach increases the probability of discovering talent in communities that might otherwise be overlooked, and it normalizes computational thinking as a basic literacy rather than a niche specialty. For a Kingdom investing heavily in technology, renewable energy, tourism, and advanced manufacturing, that broad base of digital skill is an economic asset as much as an educational one.
Vision 2030 Alignment
How does the Bebras Mawhiba competition connect to Saudi Vision 2030? Vision 2030 places human capability development at the center of the Kingdom’s transformation, emphasizing education, innovation, and the creation of a diversified, knowledge-driven economy. Mawhiba’s mission, identifying and nurturing giftedness and creativity, directly serves that objective. By encouraging students to develop problem-solving skills and understand informatics and computer science, the competition contributes to a national culture of inquiry and invention that Vision 2030 requires. It also complements other Saudi initiatives in technology, research, and digital government, creating a continuum from schoolroom to laboratory to workplace.
What comes next for the students who register? For many, the competition will be their first encounter with formal computational thinking; for others, it will be a stepping stone toward advanced study, international olympiads, or careers in technology. Mawhiba’s continued investment in this program signals that Saudi Arabia intends to compete not only in resources but in ideas and intellect. As the November 22 registration deadline approaches, students, parents, and educators across the Kingdom have a clear opportunity to participate in a program that is local in delivery but global in ambition. The competition is, in that sense, a small but meaningful expression of a much larger national project: preparing the next generation of Saudis to shape, and not merely adopt, the technologies of tomorrow.
20 Questions
Q1. What is the Bebras Mawhiba Informatics Competition?
A1. It is a national competition organized by Mawhiba in partnership with the Ministry of Education, designed to strengthen students’ informatics and computational thinking skills through an online test available in Arabic and English.
Q2. Who is eligible to register for the 2026 edition?
A2. General education students from Grade 3 of elementary school through Grade 12 across Saudi Arabia are eligible, including both male and female students in public and private schools.
Q3. When did registration open and when does it close?
A3. Registration opened on October 6, 2026, and will remain open until November 22, 2026, according to the official announcement released through Saudi channels.
Q4. How is the competition conducted?
A4. It is conducted remotely through an online test that students take using a desktop or laptop computer, with the test available in both Arabic and English.
Q5. What is Bebras internationally?
A5. Bebras is an international competition in informatics and computational thinking that attracts more than 4 million students from over 78 countries worldwide each year.
Q6. What skills does the competition aim to develop?
A6. It aims to enhance logical reasoning, analytical abilities, and problem-solving capabilities by introducing principles of algorithms, patterns, and abstraction in accessible ways.
Q7. Does the competition require prior programming experience?
A7. No. The competition focuses on computational thinking and problem-solving rather than coding syntax, making it accessible to students without prior programming experience.
Q8. Which Saudi organizations are involved in organizing it?
A8. The King Abdulaziz and His Companions Foundation for Giftedness and Creativity (Mawhiba) organizes the competition in partnership with the Ministry of Education.
Q9. How can students and parents find more information?
A9. They can learn about the competition and registration procedures through the Mawhiba app or the official website at www.mawhiba.sa.
Q10. Why is the competition offered in both Arabic and English?
A10. Offering both languages ensures that language is not a barrier to participation, allowing Arabic-speaking students to compete comfortably while maintaining international standards.
Q11. What is computational thinking?
A11. Computational thinking is the ability to break problems into steps, recognize patterns, abstract away irrelevant details, and design systematic solutions, skills that underpin computer science and many modern professions.
Q12. How does the remote format benefit students?
A12. The remote format removes geographic barriers, allowing students in smaller towns and rural areas to participate without travel, using only a desktop or laptop computer.
Q13. What is Mawhiba’s broader mission?
A13. Mawhiba is dedicated to identifying and nurturing gifted and creative students in Saudi Arabia, supporting them through programs, competitions, and educational opportunities that develop their potential.
Q14. How does the competition support Saudi Arabia’s economy?
A14. By encouraging early interest in informatics, it helps build a talent pipeline for fields such as artificial intelligence, data science, and cybersecurity, which are central to a diversified economy.
Q15. How does the competition align with Vision 2030?
A15. Vision 2030 emphasizes human capability development and a knowledge-driven economy; the competition supports these goals by fostering innovation, digital skills, and educational excellence among Saudi youth.
Q16. Is the competition open to students in private schools?
A16. Yes. The competition targets general education students, which includes students in private and international schools as well as public schools across the Kingdom.
Q17. What happens after students register?
A17. Registered students prepare for and take the online test during the competition period, with results and recognition following according to Mawhiba’s published procedures.
Q18. Why is early exposure to informatics important?
A18. Early exposure helps students develop foundational thinking skills before career choices are made, increasing the likelihood they will pursue advanced study and careers in technology-related fields.
Q19. How many countries participate in Bebras globally?
A19. More than 78 countries participate in the Bebras international competition, with total participation exceeding 4 million students worldwide each year.
Q20. What is the main message of Mawhiba’s renewed call?
A20. Mawhiba urges students to take advantage of the registration period ending November 22, 2026, and to participate in a competition that builds skills essential for their future and the Kingdom’s progress.
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